Chauffeur wins Land Rover in lucky draw

Mr Mike Lee with a Land Rover Discovery Sport. He won the vehicle worth $165,000 (without COE) in a lucky draw at The Straits Times Run at the Hub yesterday. He was one of 2,000 shortlisted from a batch of 65,000 eligible entries. Overwhelmed by shock and excitement, all he could say in front of the crowd was: "I have no words, all I can say is thank you." ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

61-year-old ST reader almost forgot he had entered draw for car worth $165,000

He drives a car for a living - but actually gets around on only two wheels.

In fact, it has been 30 years since Mr Mike Lee owned a car.

But yesterday, the 61-year-old chauffeur found himself the proud owner of a spanking new Land Rover Discovery Sport.

He won the vehicle worth $165,000 (without certificate of entitlement) at yesterday's The Straits Times Run at the Hub.

It was the grand prize in a lucky draw, sponsored by Wearnes Automotive. Having submitted only one coupon entry, he had a one in 65,000 chance of winning the prize at the draw, which was conducted during a post-race carnival at the National Stadium.

The draw was the culmination of the morning's activities, which included three races (5km, 10km and 18.45km), a mass Sh'bam workout as well as music and dance performances.

Anticipation filled the air and the stadium fell silent as emcees Ross Sarpani and Kelly Latimer brought a box containing the entries of shortlisted lucky draw entrants onto the stage.

Sarparni helped ST editor Warren Fernandez break the box's seal, after which Mr Fernandez pulled a slip of paper out of the box.

Latimer took to announcing the winner by, first, his surname "Lee", then the initial of his first name, "M".

Looking around the stadium and addressing the crowd after the first two revelations, the two emcees announced that only two people were left fighting for the top prize.

When Latimer finally announced "Mike Lee", a cheer went up from the crowd and Mr Lee sprinted towards the stage. After a few anxious moments, while his entry and details were being verified, Mr Lee finally took centrestage.

Overwhelmed by shock and excitement, all he could say in front of the crowd was: "I have no words, all I can say is thank you."

As he left the stage, he told ST: "I'm speechless, I'm very happy and I never expected to win."

Mr Lee was one of 2,000 people shortlisted from a batch of 65,000 eligible entries.

Lucky draw participants had to mail in a contest form which was found in last month's edition of The Straits Times. That contest lasted two weeks.

Mr Lee would have forgotten that he entered the draw, if not for a letter that was sent to him as a reminder to turn up yesterday.

He had his wife, Ms Judith Besada, to thank for, without her, he would not have won the car.

He said: "She was the one who persuaded me to give it a shot."

The couple had initially intended to give the car to their 33-year-old daughter Serena if they won it. She could use it to ferry her two children, aged three and six, to school.

However, Mr Lee said that he would most likely sell the prize car as "it is simply too costly to own a car in Singapore".

He added: "It is so expensive to buy the COE, and it is a little painful to fork out that amount of cash."

While he hopes to work for as long as he is able to, he intends to save the money from the sale of the car to provide for his old age.

He also plans to leave some inheritance money behind for his daughter and grandchildren.

More accustomed to riding a motorcycle despite driving for a living, Mr Lee said: "I have been riding for over 10 years now and it is very convenient; but, of course, it is also more dangerous."

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 28, 2015, with the headline 'Chauffeur wins Land Rover in lucky draw'. Print Edition | Subscribe

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